Recognizing and Mitigating Unconscious Bias for Clinicians

Building trust between clinicians and patients is also central to improving clinical outcomes and is an essential step in closing health disparity gaps. By equipping our care teams with the competencies to recognize, manage, and mitigate bias, we can move closer to equitable care for all patients.

HealthPartners is committed to fostering an inclusive environment where all patients, members and colleagues feel welcome, valued and included. As part of our journey toward becoming an anti-racist organization, the Health Equity and Anti-Racism Cabinet plays a pivotal role in aligning initiatives to improve the diversify of our workforce, ensuring that we live our values of inclusion and belonging, and work toward closing healthcare disparity gaps for our patients and members.

We recognize the persistent disparities in healthcare outcomes affecting minoritized communities, in part driven by unconscious bias in clinical decision making. To confront this challenge, our clinicians must develop the awareness and skills necessary to identify and address these biases. While awareness is a crucial first step, research indicates it is insufficient alone to meaningfully reduce bias. Evidence-based tools and strategies—coupled with ongoing practice—are critical to mitigating the negative impact bias can have on patient care.

However, bias mitigation alone is not enough. Building trust with patients is equally essential in delivering equitable, patient-centered care. Trust is the foundation of strong clinical relationships, enabling open communication and informed decision-making. For patients from historically marginalized communities—whose experiences with healthcare systems may be shaped by mistrust or past harm—clinicians must be intentional in fostering connection and psychological safety. Through the integrated practice of bias recognition and trust-building communication, clinicians can improve care outcomes while strengthening patient relationships and advancing equity

Target Audience

Onboarding clinicians

Learning Objectives

Following this enduring material, participants will be able to:

  • Describe how our unconscious thinking system works​
  • Explain how unconscious biases can negatively affect those around us​
  • Examine how unconscious bias impacts patient interactions, trust-building and medical decision-making​
  • Apply evidence-based strategies, tools and techniques to mitigate bias
Course summary
Available credit: 
  • 2.00 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™
  • 2.00 Attendance
    This program is designed to meet the Minnesota Board of Nursing’s requirements. It is the responsibility of each nurse to determine if the program meets the criteria for licensure or recertification in their discipline.
Course opens: 
08/01/2025
Course expires: 
08/01/2028
Rating: 
0

Disclosure Statement: 
Due to the non-clinical nature of the topic being presented, there is no need to identify, mitigate or disclose relevant financial relationships for this accredited continuing education activity.

There is no commercial support for this activity.

Disclosure link: 
Disclosure and Content Validation
Approved for CME from August 1, 2025 - August 1, 2028

HealthPartners is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

HealthPartners Office of Continuing Medical Education designates this enduring material for a maximum of 2.00 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Successful completion of this CME activity, which includes participation in the evaluation component, enables the participant to earn up to: 

  • 2.00 credits toward the CME component of the American Board of Anesthesiology’s redesigned Maintenance of Certification in Anesthesiology™ (MOCA®) program, known as MOCA 2.0®. Please consult the ABA website, www.theABA.org, for a list of all MOCA 2.0 requirements
  • 2.00 MOC points in the American Board of Internal Medicine's (ABIM) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program
  • 2.00 credits toward the CME requirement of the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery’s Maintenance of Certification program
  • Their required annual part II self-assessment credit in the American Board of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery’s Continuing Certification program (formerly known as MOC)
  • 2.00 MOC points toward Lifelong Learning in the American Board of Pathology (ABPath) Continuing Certification program
  • 2.00 MOC points in the American Board of Pediatrics’ (ABP) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program
  • 2.00 credits toward the CME and Self-Assessment requirements of the American Board of Surgery’s Continuous Certification program
  • 2.00 credits toward the CME and Self-Assessment requirements of the American Board of Thoracic Surgery’s Maintenance of Certification program

It is the CME activity provider's responsibility to submit participant completion information to ACCME for the purpose of granting ABA, ABIM, ABOS, ABOHNS, ABPath, ABP, ABS and ABTS (MOC) credit, points and/or recognizing participation.

This program is designed to meet the Minnesota Board of Nursing requirements. It is the responsibility of each participant to determine if the program meets the criteria for licensure or recertification for their discipline.

Available Credit

  • 2.00 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™
  • 2.00 Attendance
    This program is designed to meet the Minnesota Board of Nursing’s requirements. It is the responsibility of each nurse to determine if the program meets the criteria for licensure or recertification in their discipline.
Please login or register to take this course.


This activity is intended for our internal audience only. A login using the HealthPartners Login with your network credentials is required.

Once you are logged in to your account, click Start to continue.

You will be asked to enter the 6-letter attendance verification code that was provided upon completion of the course in myLearning.


NOTE: Do not submit the evaluation until you have completed every module in myLearning.
You will not earn credit for completing additional modules after you have submitted the evaluation and received your certificate!

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Internal Audience applies to all HealthPartners Employees and Contract Staff, including HealthPartners, Park Nicollet, TRIA, Westfields Hospital, HPCMC, Hudson Hospital, PNBConline.Com, Lakeview Hospital and Clinics, Amery Medical, HutchHealth